Back in cloth nappies again

[Stroller]

I've just had a month in disposables while the kids were home from college, and now they've gone back again, escaping having to stay here for the latest government lockdown.  A month stuck out in the middle of the countryside with nowhere else to go and nobody to meet was enough for both of them, so I drove them both back to where they are studying.  And so now I'm back in cloth nappies again, which feels so much better.

So, what's wrong with disposables?  For me, that is - this is about what works for me, not objective stuff.  Let's see...

1. They create a lot of landfill.  In 4 weeks I virtually filled our dustbin with used nappies twice - and it gets emptied every 2 weeks.  That meant I had to find somewhere else to stash some of our other rubbish - stuff less likely to cause problems if it was hanging around in the garage for a while.  Apart from that, I'm an environmentalist, and I'm not happy about creating any landfill at all, let alone this huge amount.
2. They tend to leak overnight.  I've just had a month when I had to try to make sure I was on my back when wetting at night, to reduce the risk.  I always had a soaker in as well, which helped, and in fact I had no leaks.  And sometimes I was half asleep and wetted on my side, so I was lucky this time.  Now I'm back in cloth, and I can wet whichever way up I am and not worry about it.
3. They aren't as bulky as cloth.  For some that would be an advantage, but for me I prefer a constant reminder that I'm just a little one in a nappy, and having a bulky wedge of dry or soggy nappy between my legs feels just as things should be.

So now I can stop hiding things in the hidden cupboard under the bath, I've put my nappy bucket back in the bathroom, and I can have my dummy in during the day at home again.  And Mummy's started bringing me a bedtime bottle of milk up and feeding me when she comes up to bed.  Bliss.

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

Welcome back to the world of the living

[dlnoir]

On 1/7/2021 at 4:10 PM, Stroller said:

I've just had a month in disposables while the kids were home from college, and now they've gone back again, escaping having to stay here for the latest government lockdown.  A month stuck out in the middle of the countryside with nowhere else to go and nobody to meet was enough for both of them, so I drove them both back to where they are studying.  And so now I'm back in cloth nappies again, which feels so much better.

So, what's wrong with disposables?  For me, that is - this is about what works for me, not objective stuff.  Let's see...

1. They create a lot of landfill.  In 4 weeks I virtually filled our dustbin with used nappies twice - and it gets emptied every 2 weeks.  That meant I had to find somewhere else to stash some of our other rubbish - stuff less likely to cause problems if it was hanging around in the garage for a while.  Apart from that, I'm an environmentalist, and I'm not happy about creating any landfill at all, let alone this huge amount.
2. They tend to leak overnight.  I've just had a month when I had to try to make sure I was on my back when wetting at night, to reduce the risk.  I always had a soaker in as well, which helped, and in fact I had no leaks.  And sometimes I was half asleep and wetted on my side, so I was lucky this time.  Now I'm back in cloth, and I can wet whichever way up I am and not worry about it.
3. They aren't as bulky as cloth.  For some that would be an advantage, but for me I prefer a constant reminder that I'm just a little one in a nappy, and having a bulky wedge of dry or soggy nappy between my legs feels just as things should be.

So now I can stop hiding things in the hidden cupboard under the bath, I've put my nappy bucket back in the bathroom, and I can have my dummy in during the day at home again.  And Mummy's started bringing me a bedtime bottle of milk up and feeding me when she comes up to bed.  Bliss.

So true nothing like cloth diapers 360 degrees absorbency, nice bulk and very authentic.☺️

[Like2bwet]

A cloth nappy and nice plastic/rubber pants can not be beaten.

[oznl]

On 1/8/2021 at 1:10 AM, Stroller said:

1. They create a lot of landfill.  In 4 weeks I virtually filled our dustbin with used nappies twice - and it gets emptied every 2 weeks.  That meant I had to find somewhere else to stash some of our other rubbish - stuff less likely to cause problems if it was hanging around in the garage for a while.  Apart from that, I'm an environmentalist, and I'm not happy about creating any landfill at all, let alone this huge amount.

Agreed.  Whilst I’m not the world’s greatest environmentalist, I’m not completely blind to our disproportionately large environmental footprint and I’m not very happy about the amount of rubbish this habit produces: at least it’s bio-degradable I suppose.  On a logistical note, here in my part of Australia we still have relatively capacious “wheelie bins” that are collected weekly.  In other, trendier municipalities, councils have been handing out half-size bins.  This is explained as environmentalism but I suspect it’s more about cost saving being green-washed.  Regardless, a move to half-sized bins here would be instantly problematic for me as I’m 80% in disposables (100% for the last month due to similar reasons to yourself).

Incidentally, I've yet to find a medical-grade adult cloth product that actually works and would be practical from a laundry perspective.  Only ABDL stuff seems any good.

On 1/8/2021 at 1:10 AM, Stroller said:

1. They tend to leak overnight.  I've just had a month when I had to try to make sure I was on my back when wetting at night, to reduce the risk.  I always had a soaker in as well, which helped, and in fact I had no leaks.  And sometimes I was half asleep and wetted on my side, so I was lucky this time.  Now I'm back in cloth, and I can wet whichever way up I am and not worry about it.

Yep.  They leak for me too.  I offset this risk by wearing terry-lined plastic pants over them at night (incidentally, this creates rather a cloth-like look and bulk).  Although my leakage frequency has substantially reduced over time as my voiding patterns have changed after prolonged 24/7 nappy-usage, the terry lining still occasionally takes one for the team.  Cloth nappies rarely, if ever have this problem for me and I’m much more comfortable with them in bed (my partner is NOT however).  If it weren't for my partner, I'd probably wear cloth at night all the time.

On 1/8/2021 at 1:10 AM, Stroller said:

1. They aren't as bulky as cloth.  For some that would be an advantage, but for me I prefer a constant reminder that I'm just a little one in a nappy, and having a bulky wedge of dry or soggy nappy between my legs feels just as things should be.

This is an advantage for me to be honest.  Especially with the folded/pinned variety, it can just be a little hard to move around working on things around the house and visually, they are NOT subtle.  Being 24/7 and having to remain discreet about this, I have to consider this with respect to my cloth usage as well.  Babykins pull-on cotton diapers I've found to be the least-worst for visual discretion.

[steviet]

I love the bulky feeling of a pinned on cloth diaper.  The rustling sound of my plastic pants and the thick cloth diaper bunched up between my legs.  Bliss

 

[Little BabyDoll Christine]

On 1/12/2021 at 7:49 PM, oznl said:

Agreed.  Whilst I’m not the world’s greatest environmentalist, I’m not completely blind to our disproportionately large I’m not very happy about the amount of rubbish this habit produces: at least it’s bio-degradable I suppose.  On a logistical note, here in my part of Australia we still have relatively capacious “wheelie bins” that are collected weekly.  In other, trendier municipalities, councils have been handing out half-size bins.  This is explained as environmentalism but I suspect it’s more about cost saving being green-washed.  Regardless, a move to half-sized bins here would be instantly problematic for me as I’m 80% in disposables (100% for the last month due to similar reasons to yourself).

 

 

 

Neither were our parents or grandparents (depending on what generation you are) But the knew common sense and they understood that something like this is WASTEFUL, being a one-use item when there were easily obtainable items that gave you 50 or more uses with little gare ande added expense. Wereas the single-use item had to be fully replaced each time at the full price each

And the more uses you got out of the diaper. the more economical it becomes as the price is amortized over time with only the relatively small maintenance costs, which also can be dimininsed per unit if you clean several at once. And you really do not save the cost of rubber panties since you are well-advised to use them over throw-aways, unless you believe the lies but one good leak or blowout should disabuse you of them, of which there are many tales of woe here at DD. The intial cost can be further reduced if you can make your own

https://littleab.com/ABcare/diapertypes.html

 

[oznl]

9 hours ago, Little Christine said:

Neither were our parents or grandparents (depending on what generation you are) But the knew common sense and they understood that something like this is WASTEFUL, being a one-use item when there were easily obtainable items that gave you 50 or more uses with little gare ande added expense. Wereas the single-use item had to be fully replaced each time at the full price each

And the more uses you got out of the diaper. the more economical it becomes as the price is amortized over time with only the relatively small maintenance costs, which also can be dimininsed per unit if you clean several at once. And you really do not save the cost of rubber panties since you are well-advised to use them over throw-aways, unless you believe the lies but one good leak or blowout should disabuse you of them, of which there are many tales of woe here at DD. The intial cost can be further reduced if you can make your own

https://littleab.com/ABcare/diapertypes.html

 

I don't disagree with any of that.  I guess to be fair to disposables, they have less visual bulk (important when you're 24/7 around people you don't want to see that you are diapered) and there's the question of smell.  A pee-wet cloth nappy does smell a bit (even if we don't notice due to olfactory habituation).  Add that to the fact that the laundry will necessarily be "seen" by my beloved and this probably explains the considerably higher level of push-back I get for any sustained use of cloth nappies whilst she is home.  She has outright told me that she would vastly prefer me in disposables (and by prefer I mean "hate to a lesser extent" rather than "like").

[Greybird]

On 1/8/2021 at 4:10 AM, Stroller said:

I've just had a month in disposables while the kids were home from college, and now they've gone back again, escaping having to stay here for the latest government lockdown.  A month stuck out in the middle of the countryside with nowhere else to go and nobody to meet was enough for both of them, so I drove them both back to where they are studying.  And so now I'm back in cloth nappies again, which feels so much better.

So, what's wrong with disposables?  For me, that is - this is about what works for me, not objective stuff.  Let's see...

1. They create a lot of landfill.  In 4 weeks I virtually filled our dustbin with used nappies twice - and it gets emptied every 2 weeks.  That meant I had to find somewhere else to stash some of our other rubbish - stuff less likely to cause problems if it was hanging around in the garage for a while.  Apart from that, I'm an environmentalist, and I'm not happy about creating any landfill at all, let alone this huge amount.
2. They tend to leak overnight.  I've just had a month when I had to try to make sure I was on my back when wetting at night, to reduce the risk.  I always had a soaker in as well, which helped, and in fact I had no leaks.  And sometimes I was half asleep and wetted on my side, so I was lucky this time.  Now I'm back in cloth, and I can wet whichever way up I am and not worry about it.
3. They aren't as bulky as cloth.  For some that would be an advantage, but for me I prefer a constant reminder that I'm just a little one in a nappy, and having a bulky wedge of dry or soggy nappy between my legs feels just as things should be.

So now I can stop hiding things in the hidden cupboard under the bath, I've put my nappy bucket back in the bathroom, and I can have my dummy in during the day at home again.  And Mummy's started bringing me a bedtime bottle of milk up and feeding me when she comes up to bed.  Bliss.

Thank you, Stroller, this resonates with me so well! There are some disposables that I do like (Rearz and Crinklz mostly) but I too hate the ‘landfill’ aspect, as I explained to my doctor last week when she said that to rid myself of the dreaded ‘nappy rash’, I needed a nappy that wicked the wetness away from my little boy bits.   But this “ but for me I prefer a constant reminder that I'm just a little one in a nappy, and having a bulky wedge of dry or soggy nappy between my legs feels just as things should be.” is exactly how I feel, although I could not explain that to the doctor! 

[bbbuddy]

I wonder ultimately whether it is just the time we grew up or what we were subjected to as children? I love being pinned into a thick terry towelling nappy with a fairly noisy pair of plastic pants over the top, sometimes with a pair of frillies coveting them, more often not though. My wife thinks it must be very uncomfortable and hot and sweaty especially here in the summer months but I love it all the same, even the leg marks that the plastic pants leave after being in place all night. Disposables just don’t cut it!